The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen by Linda Colley review â how the modern world was made
The vital role of war . a virtuoso global study of how nations were formed and constitutions written upends the familiar narrative at every turn
Detail from an illustration of the ceremony for the promulgation of the constitution of Japan in 1889. Photograph: agefotostock/Alamy
Detail from an illustration of the ceremony for the promulgation of the constitution of Japan in 1889. Photograph: agefotostock/Alamy
MilesTaylor
Sat 24 Apr 2021 02.30 EDT
Few documents are venerated as much as the American constitution. Until recently, one million people a year filed past the original copy on display in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in Washington DC. Yet, as Linda Colleyâs brilliant new book shows, viewing constitutions as national tablets of stone tells us more about their contemporary charisma than the complex histories from which they were wrought. In this compelling study of co